Though our tools will be classical guitars, we’ll play this as rock! When you play the chords (Guitar 3 at the beginning, and all together at the end), strum them (either air pick with index finger or with your thumb). Don’t worry about any buzz from the guitar from hitting those chords loud. Please do worry about hitting the rhythms - the dotted quarter + eighth note rhythmic motif is a foundation throughout Lunar Eclipse. Swing any triplets such that the last note of each triplet matches the eighth note in the dotted quarter + eighth note rhythm.
To emulate the rich sound of a distorted electric guitar, many phrases and sections are the same notes an octave apart. Listen for the other sections and match their rhythms to get the full effect – usually this will be Guitar 3 doubled with Guitar 1 or 2.
To emulate the contrast between distorted and clean electric guitar, embrace the loud-soft-loud-soft dynamic between sections. The difference is meant to be a bit jarring, with the quiet sections soft as moonlight and the loud sections embracing dark dissonant chords and phrases.
For the sections at bar 9 and bar 47, you are all sharing notes in the same phrase, but having the sound ping-pong across the sections of the orchestra to make use of your space. You can hear Guitar 2 play this phrase quietly by themselves at bar 21 if you need to hear it as one for reference. Guitar 1 and 2, you’ll need to use artificial harmonics for some notes in the phrase.
Guitar 1, embrace your role as the rock lead guitar! If it feels uncomfortable to hit the chords at bar 3 so far up, note the optional divisi - divide the high note and low note equally among your section to hit them more confidently. Have fun hitting the guitar solos at bar 35 and bar 59 with confidence!
Guitar 3, you’re the rhythmic base, and especially so at bar 56. Please play your Eighth Notes steady, backing off the volume a bit as you do, and match your emphasis to Guitar 2’s rhythm. Guitar 2 is playing the same notes an octave up. All parts, let loose with your volume at bar 62 – you don’t want to play such a dissonant chord with any subtlety, and you’ll play that same chord later to end the piece.
At bar 66, have fun filling the room with all guitars playing power chords! Mind the quarter-note rest to get that heavy metal percussive contrast (with Guitar 1 filling it with a metal style percussive strum at bar 69). You’ll end with some drama, Guitar 1 getting in one last up-the-neck lick at bar 72, and everyone hitting and holding the dissonant chord in the final bar.